Quiet Burn (Discordia University #2)

Lean On Me

Salem

“ K it Kat, take it easy. Dr. D said you can’t over-do it for a couple of days, dude.” He gives me a sulky look that I have a stupidly hard time not reacting to as I guide him to the counter. “It’s not a sign of weakness to need help when you’re injured. Is this a human thing?”

My gaze cuts to the rest of our caliphate and they shrug, obviously not sure, either. Oriel tilts his head, watching Kit pull items out of his basket carefully. Once he’s got what he needs, the crow shifter frowns a little. I want to ask him what the hell his problem is, but the expression on his face tells me to keep my big yap shut. I guess he doesn’t want Prince Prickface to hear his question, and I don’t blame him.

Jasper’s behaving for the moment, but most of us don’t trust that to last as the day goes on. His churlishness is too ingrained as a defensive mechanism.

“Why is everyone staring at me? That’s going to draw attention, you know,” the smaller human grumbles as he preps his toothbrush. “You can’t study me like I’m a damn bug under a lamp all day.”

The Prince snorts, walking to his private station to apply aftershave. “It’s hard not to. You’re moving like an invalid and you snarl anytime someone touches you. I don’t know how we’re supposed to maintain this facade.”

“Behave.” Slash’s single word makes all of my dorm mates straighten, even the grumpy royal. “They will believe what we tell them to.”

That’s easy to say when you’re sporting a fin and razor teeth all day.

“Slash, you have the ability to silence a room with a look. Not all of us are so formidable,” Zavida says as he ruffles his rusty hair.

“Let’s map the flow for today, then,” X says as they roll their stockings up their legs. “They said the classes will flip to prep for these stupid games, but not change. It’s Monday, so who’s where?”

Kit pauses his brushing, his eyes wide as he looks at us in the mirror. Spitting quickly, he rinses his mouth before replying. “I have Intro to Supes and Deconstructing History alone on Monday and Wednesday.”

His admission gets a chorus of groans or growls depending on the demon, and the tension in the room ratchets up. Oriel lifts his hand, clearing his throat, “Let’s not forget I found him being cornered by Lilibet in there last week.”

“Fuck,” Anton mutters. “We haven’t had time to deal with that mess yet.”

“I have a free period during the first slot,” Slash says with a toothy grin. “I can deal with the Cubi. She’ll back off once I’m there or I’ll make her suffer.”

Jasper rolls his eyes, sighing as he pulls his uniform on, adjusting it for his preferred shift. “Fine. What about the second class?”

“Guys, I don’t really need…”

“We all have class.” Zav looks up from his phone, his eyes dark as he fixes his tie. He’s always the first one dressed, but Kit has him beat by a landslide. “That’s an issue, but I don’t believe we can solve it this semester without a great deal of administrative power.”

X wrinkles their nose as they lace their knee-high boots. “We will never get Darkstar to sign off on that. He’s definitely up to something and if he hates Kit and us, he’ll never approve the moves needed to make it work.”

“ Hello !” We all spin to see the guy in question glaring at us in annoyance. He’s clenching his fists at his sides and there’s frustration rolling off him in waves. “Just because you have a plan that I agreed to does not mean you get to dictate my entire life. I will be okay in one class alone, especially since it’s not Lilibet. If I’m not , I’ll tell you. How about that, douchebags?”

I blink, a slow smile creeping over my face as I yank my shirt over my head then move closer. “Okay, Kit Kat. You’re right. You agreed to do this shit because you’re not an idiot, but treating you like fine china is off the plate.”

“That’s not what we?—”

Oriel shakes his head at Anton. “It’s not what we meant, but it’s how he felt. I get it. But Kit, you gotta know we’re worried about someone hurting you again. Until your shit emerges, you’re a lot more breakable than the rest of us.”

Our leader grunts as he finishes up his routine, and I take that as agreement until he says otherwise. Slash nods, then the rest of my brothers fall in line with our thief’s assessment. Kit sighs, gathering his things with his shoulders slumped. I frown, not liking the loss of his spitfire, so I take them from him gently.

“Let’s drop these off and grab the rest of your stuff, dude. The rest of these dicks can argue about whatever they want until we meet at the elevator.”

My answer is a tiny grin, and when I whistle, the kinkajou comes running out of a pile of towels where she was curled up. Her big eyes blink as she stares at the group, then she chitters loudly and shakes her paw again. I really think that’s her method of telling us all to get fucked, and Kit chuckles before holding his arm out.

“Alright, Salem. We’ll take Dottie and get supplies. Clearing all this testosterone out of my lungs is probably a good thing.”

Before anyone can shoot back, I lead him away from the sink, looking over my shoulder at the caliphate with narrowed eyes. They need to give the poor kid some fucking space or we’re all going to go down in flames. Our discussion about the shared interest in Kit was a good first step, but we can’t let our instinct to protect him alienate us.

As we walk back to the dorm, I look down at our new obsession. He’s moving better, but he’s definitely not going to classes without an escort. Jasper wouldn’t tell any of us how the fuck Kit avoided getting roasted, but I’m glad he’s not lying in the infirmary with burns while Dr. D hovers over him.

“You know, if you need to talk about what happened… before Jasper showed… all you need to do is tell me,” I say softly. “We don’t have therapists here and shit, so…”

His crooked smile makes my chest tighten in that odd way, but he shakes his head. “Not yet. I’m still… processing it all, especially Jasper’s help. It’s hard to explain, but I’m not completely sure which details are real and which ones I maybe… imagined?”

“Fair enough, little dude. But I’m here if you need one ear who’ll shut up to listen.”

Strangely enough, I mean that—even the part about doing it without everyone else around.

A knock at our door tells me it’s time to head for the elevator, and I close up the container of fruit Kit and I were tossing to Dottie. “Time to face the music, girl. Your master and I have to put on a show for the crowd, so you gotta behave.”

My roommate snorts and shakes his head. “Dottie will do what she wants, no matter what. I trust her judgement by now.”

“Oh, that’s going to go over so well,” I mutter. Looking at the kinkajou, I shake a finger playfully. “You have to let people touch him, young lady. It might not be comfortable for him at first, but that’s the only way we can sell this shit.”

Kit gives me an amused look. “You’re talking to her like I do. I can’t really decide if she understands everything or not.”

“Either way, I hope I got the message across.” Rising to my feet, I wait for him to hook his bag over his neck and hold my arm out for the rodent. “Let’s get this show on the road, folks.”

“Okay,” Kit sighs as he grabs my bicep. I tuck it close to my side, smiling when he doesn’t shrink away. “Time to face the executioners.”

Guiding him out the door, I grin. “I like music as a metaphor better, Kit Kat. None of us want to kill you, you know.”

“Speak for yourself, panda,” Jasper grumbles. “I’ll definitely want to murder him if this shit goes sideways.”

“Shut up, Prince.”

Kit snickers at Slash’s irritated grunt as we all fill the elevator. The big guy is showing up for him in the best way possible since the incident, so I’m inclined to let him into the inner circle with X and Oriel. Everyone else is close to joining, except the grouchy dragon who simply refuses to admit to himself what we all know.

Well, everyone but Kit, but that’s no surprise.

“So tell me what I should expect this time.” We all look down at Kit—except Zav—as he demands our attention. “If I can prepare, I’ll handle it better.”

“We’re going to sell the idea that you’re dating us, one by one. It won’t all be at breakfast, but it's a good place to start,” Oriel says softly. “Salem is already close, so if he behaves like he is now but amps it up a bit, it will get tongues wagging.”

Zavida pushes his glasses up, flushing a bit. “Then Slash can take him to the first class and it will reinforce it, right?”

“Yes.”

Grinning a little, Kit looks over at the shark shifter. “You’re not going to force feed me, right, big guy? I promise Salem sent me food I’ll eat at the table.”

Jasper arches a brow at his second, who pointedly ignores him for our charge. The shark rumbles a bit, studying him for a second. “I’ll get fresh coffee, then.”

“Lillith’s dirty thongs,” Jasper mutters as he stares at the ceiling. “This is going to be interminable.”

His grunt tells me someone socked him in the side or gut, and I’m strangely pleased with that. “That works, Slash. We’ll start with those two hints, then Kit Kat goes to History on his own. Who’s got him after that?”

“I’m not a football you can pass around the field.”

“Nope, but you are someone we want to ensure stays in one piece,” Zavida says shyly. “So Oriel should join you and you can head to the Triclinium for lunch, right? You’ll meet Jasper and me there, but by the end, Anton should be there, too.”

Anton nods, watching Kit digest the information carefully. “Correct. I can drop him at Lineage afterward.”

Fuck. That’s another class he’s got on his own.

“O and I have Lit after that, so we’ll get him then,” I muse. “I wonder what these assholes are going to do since they’re canceling all the damn extracurriculars? Think they’ll tell us in class or…?”

“No. I think they’ll tell us in the Triclinium ,” Jasper says as the doors pop open. “Hurry up so we don’t miss anything. I don’t like how quiet it’s been since the announcement.”

That’s our leader—missing the forest for the fucking trees. He’s so intent on not letting anyone know how worried he is about Kit after the attack that he’s gone full scale laser focus on the games. His ability to narrow the field is great when it’s helping develop strategy, but it’s shit when it makes people feel like they don’t matter.

I look down at Kit, hoping the dragon hasn’t upset him again. Luckily, he’s too busy chewing his lip and mouthing something to himself as he holds onto my arm. He doesn’t seem to be going into one of his episodes, so I don’t interfere.

Maybe he just needs to get in the right mindset.

After all, this is going to put an even bigger target on his back, but it’s the only plan we’ve got. Nothing else will keep all the lower level idiots off his case. And Satan forbid, when the admin figures out which damn demons are missing from their crispy end this weekend, it will keep eyes from turning to the new kid—hopefully.

We march up to the double doors of the cafeteria and Jasper looks at the entire caliphate seriously. “This is it, gentleman. The curtain is going up, and we have to make sure everyone believes the show. There’s no room for error, or the newbie could get killed.”

“Thanks for the inspiring speech,” Kit grumbles. “Can we go in and get caffeine now? I can’t take anymore of your bullshit without an injection into my veins.”

Damn, he’s fun; I’m going to enjoy this.